


Phone

by Tabbynerdicat



Series: Stripesverse [11]
Category: Video Blogging RPF, Who Killed Markiplier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22296058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tabbynerdicat/pseuds/Tabbynerdicat
Summary: It's Anti's birthday, and despite what he believes, everyone cares about him.
Series: Stripesverse [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1598143
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	Phone

"You may want to check your messages,"

Anti glanced up from his spot on the couch, fixing Dark with a mildly disconcerting look of unease. He'd been minding his business since he'd arrived- he didn't seem to want to talk about what had happened between them, and Dark felt he could respect that. Anti had been in a position of weakness, and being forced to rely on someone else wasn't something Anti particularly enjoyed. The air between them hadn't exactly been tense, but then, Dark could hardly call it calm. The silence, dare he say it, had him a little worried.

"Why?" Anti muttered, turning the page of the magazine he'd been skimming through idly for the past hour. "Not like anyone but you even wants to speak to me..."

"Anti, it's your birthday- whether you like to admit it or not, there are several people out there who are thinking of you. Your brothers are only some of them, and I'm _sure_ they're worried." Dark explained, folding his arms as he sat forward. "You haven't spoken to them since you left, have you?"

"It's been a _day_ , Dark."

"Days shouldn't be wasted, Anti- you never know when you'll lose the chance to reconcile with someone, and _trust me_ when I say I know how it feels to have that chance squandered. You don't want to stay mad at them forever. I know that you care about them, underneath all of that angst..."

"They wouldn't want me to speak to them, anyway," Anti tried to deflect, chest stirring a little as his anxiety started up again- but he didn't want Dark to fuss, so he said nothing of it. "They didn't give a damn about my last two birthdays- not when they've got JJ to worry about now... it's not like you're meant to care about the birthday of your enemy. That's just how life works..."

"You aren't their enemy, Anti, and you _know_ that," Dark sighed. "But if you don't feel well enough to confront them, I understand. As much as I want this to be an opportunity to put the past behind you, the decision is not mine to make... however, I want you to know that the other Ipliers are rather excited to celebrate your birthday with you. Would you do them the honour of attending their party?"

Anti looked wary, though Dark knew it wasn't because of the birthday celebrations. Anti was still recovering- his burns had flared up overnight, turning into fierce purple marks that covered most of his body, barely hidden by the oversized sweater Edward had given him to wear. He was still emotional, still touchy- and the only reason he hadn't snapped at Dark yet was probably because he was scared of offending him. Anti, despite everything that had happened, still didn't trust that Dark truly cared about him.

"... How many are gonna be there?" Anti asked, hesitating briefly.

"Most probably everybody, but most will only come for the cake. I'd wager a select few would want to give you their personal time, and I can moderate them if it will make you feel better."

Silence. It was so quiet that the ticking of the clock was starting to make Dark's skin itch, so he cleared his throat and waited for Anti to reply.

More silence.

"Dear-"

"I don't want you to move mountains for me." Anti stated abruptly, looking at the magazine in his lap. "You're bending over backwards tryin' to cater to my every move, and... I just don't _get_ it. I went from a distraction to a priority, and I really... I just want to be _alone_."

"Alone?" Dark repeated, looking at him with concern. Had he done something wrong? Had he overstepped an unspoken boundary, making Anti uncomfortable around him? Was it even his fault at all?

"How so?"

"'M just... feelin' a bit smothered, that's all." Anti sighed, flexing his fingers as if the motion would soothe his mind. "And... I appreciate you tryin' to help me out, but I f-feel like I might do something I shouldn't if..."

"None of the Ipliers will judge you for lashing out- you do realise who you're dealing with, don't you? Yan, Wilford, Google... pretending they don't have their share of outbursts would be simply ludicrous."

Anti bit his lip, eyes glassy though he looked like he was trying to hold back the tears. "That's... that's not the point. I'll... I'll think about it, but..."

Dark sent him a smile, and the sight was still a little strange to see- but Anti smiled back as genuinely as he could manage. He knew Dark was trying- regardless of whether he had an ulterior motive or not, he seemed to want to help Anti through his identity crisis. Anti supposed he had to respect that.

"I appreciate your efforts regardless, Anti." Dark praised, getting to his feet. "But in the meantime I implore you- check your phone. You might be surprised with what you'll find."

"A headache waiting to happen?" Anti muttered sarcastically, and Dark let out a weary chuckle.

"Of course, dear, but you may also find a brilliant painkiller. Please, at least try... I know some of your brothers would be quite hurt not to hear from you, namely the younger ones..."

"Where are you going?" Anti asked, seeing Dark walking towards the door, pulling his blazer back on. Dark shrugged his shoulders, turning the handle- he nodded in the direction of Anti's case, and then he was gone.

_Ah. That's the stubborn bastard I know..._

Anti let out a tremendous sigh. It was... complicated, to say the least. He'd been excited about his first birthday, sure- but then Jack had teased pictures of a newer ego, and everyone had forgotten him. He'd been looking forward to his second birthday- but his other brothers seemed much more invested in Jameson than they ever were in him. This year, he wasn't planning to be home for his birthday anyway if he could help it. It just so happened that he was already gone by the time it rolled around, and he hadn't paid any mind to what they were thinking of while he was away- he hadn't even remembered what day it was until Edward had greeted him this morning.

Did they even remember? Were they speaking about it? Were they trying to pretend Anti had never existed, refusing to mention him at all?

_Why do I care so much?_

Well, Anti knew that Dark was right about the youngest three. Chase, Robbie and Jameson had never really had a problem with him or his past. They were welcoming enough, including him in their ideas and games, attempting to make him feel like he was part of the family. It was never enough, though... Anti knew that they would have called already. He hadn't looked at his phone since leaving the house, hadn't even _thought_ about it in over a day. Perhaps, he could get away with not checking it. Maybe, he could pretend it had run flat...

_No. Dark would just drag Google in here to fix it..._

Still, Anti didn't feel like thinking about his family today. Regardless of whose birthday it was, regardless of how they felt about him- he didn't feel alright. Surely, if they cared so much about him, they could accept that fact...

He didn't move from his seat, and picked up his magazine once more.

**~0o0o0o0o0~**

_\- Thursday 03:18 am -_

Angus: Hey m8

Angus: Happy Birthday!

Angus: ...

Angus: U online?

Angus: Anti

_\- You missed 2 calls from Angus -_

Angus: I swear to God Anti you never pick up your phone why do you even have it

Angus: I'm getting you a present when I get to LA

Angus: You're gonna love it

Angus: ...

Angus: I'll let you sleep then you glitchy weirdo

Angus: Call me back when U got time yeah

**~0o0o0o0o0~**

_You entered the group chat._

_Chase changed the chat name to 'Anti's Birthday'_

_Chase changed your nickname to 'Birthday Bitch'_

_Chase changed their nickname to 'Big Daddy'_

Henrik: Chase no

_Big Daddy changed their nickname to 'Chase'_

Chase: fine jeez

Chase: U all here?

Chase: Anti?

Jackie: he hasnt been online for 2 days

Henrik: He is ignoring my calls.

Chase: dude no wonder

Chase: you guys all ganged up on him last night

Henrik: I only asked him a question, actually.

_Marvin has left the group chat._

Chase: dammit

_Chase added Marvin to the group chat._

Chase: stop leaving the chat you prick

Marvin: You're spamming my notifications and I'm busy

Henrik: You are being insensitive Marvin

Robbie: Antiisnt reding my texts either

Chase: you don't think something happened to him do you?

_Henrik is typing..._

Robbie: I hope not

Robbie: I made him acake

Henrik: I know where he is, but he clearly does not want to speak to us. He is somewhere safe, though.

Chase: ?!

Chase: where

Chase: omg hes at the manor isnt he

Chase: ight imma head out

Henrik: Chase no!

_Jackie is typing..._

Robbie: @Marvin needs tosay sorry

Marvin: Stop tagging me in this chat

Marvin: I can't be interrupted this is important

_Marvin has left the group chat._

Jackie: prick

Jackie: anyway I was gonna say that we should probably leave him be

Jackie: he seems like he just needs time

Robbie: What if Anti issad?

Jackie: I dont know what to say robbie

Jackie: if he doesnt answer our calls we cant do much for him

Jackie: can you try talking to host to see if hes at the manor

Jackie: I think henrik and chase are both offline

Robbie: Host doesn't text

Jackie: oof yeah that makes sense

Robbie: Ican try to call him

Robbie: Wait a secnd

**~0o0o0o0o0~**

Henrik: Edward I don't know what to do

Henrik: The others are restless and they want to talk to Anti

Henrik: Marvin is still being stubborn, and Chase doesn't want to wait for him

Henrik: Can you call me when you are free?

Henrik: I need to find clarity.

_Henrik is typing..._

Henrik: I miss you. _\- Message deleted -_

**~0o0o0o0o0o0~**

Jackie: @Robbie what did host say

Robbie: Anti doesn't want toleave his room

Robbie: I hope he's okay

Jackie: Im sure he is

Jackie: make sure you freeze the cake

Jackie: I get the feeling anti wont be coming home tonight

_Chase added Marvin to the chat._

Chase: can you at least try to own up to your own shit for once @Marvin 

Chase: your dumb potion isn't as important as your family

Chase: I can see you reading these messages dipshit

_Marvin is typing..._

Robbie: Don'tbe mean

Jackie: he does have a point

Jackie: marvin clearly said something to make anti leave

Henrik: I think it would be wise to remove Anti from this group chat.

Marvin: None of you understand what happened and you aren't even trying to so if you could all stop adding me to the chat just to drag me it would be great

_Marvin has left the chat._

Chase: wait

Chase: bastard blocked me

Robbie: Oh no

Henrik: I will talk to him.

_Henrik removed you from the group chat. You will be unable to post but you can still view old messages._

**~0o0o0o0o0~**

"You never touched your phone, did you?" Dark uttered disapprovingly, prying Anti's Sudoku book from his hands and setting it down on the table. "You don't realise it, Anti, but you _are_ loved. When will you let yourself see it?"

"I don't care, Dark, give me back my fuckin' number puzzles..." Anti huffed, trying to grab for his book- but Dark flicked his wrist and sent it flying to the other side of the room, losing Anti's page. The glitch grumbled incoherently, clearly annoyed- but it seemed that Dark was back to his old insufferable self again. There would be no more coddling from him- and part of Anti was relieved, even if he would miss the comfort that the soft side of Dark provided. An edgy Dark was a predictable Dark, and Anti would never pass down predictability.

"How lonely do you have to be to spend your birthday doing silly logic puzzles? Even I let myself go on certain occasions... Chef Iplier has prepared a cake and refreshments, and the others are gathered downstairs. The Host and Yandereplier seemed especially eager to talk to you. Would you not rather enjoy yourself with others than scribble into a page you'll forget within the hour?"

Anti let out a heavy sigh, tugging at his own hair. "What if they don't want me, Dark? Huh? What if they're just there because you made them do it, and none of them even like me at all... everyone here falls over themself to impress you. How do I know you didn't bully them all into pretending to care?"

Dark's features softened, his blue aura growing a little dimmer as he approached Anti, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Is that really what you think of me? Anti, I may be cruel and manipulative, but there are certain lines even _I_ do not cross. I wouldn't force them to lie to you. Is it really that hard to believe that there are people who like you for who you are?"

" _Yes_." Anti huffed, crossing his arms.

"Well, I suppose we'll need to work on that..." Dark muttered with resignation, tapping Anti on the shoulder. "Come downstairs, dear. I promise you that everyone is there for their own reasons, not mine. We've prepared a good night for you, it would be such a shame to waste it..."

Anti grimaced, though he had to admit that he was starting to feel a little hungry. "... I will come down, just to make you shut up..."

Dark chuckled, smiling smugly as Anti got to his feet. "I just knew you would come around. Hurry now- the cake is chocolate-mint..."

**~0o0o0o0o0~**

_\- Friday 12:16 am -_

Robbie: Anti isn't comng home ishe?

Jackie: we dont know that

Chase: well damn he's leaving it pretty late if he is

Henrik: What are you all still doing awake?

Henrik: Anti is not returning tonight.

Jackie: wait how do you know

Henrik: Edward told me, so please go to sleep. We can discuss this in the morning.

Chase: we can't just pretend this is fine

Chase: I really think Marv fucked up

Chase: I don't think Anti trusts us anymore

Jackie: I dont think he ever did

Henrik: If you must have this conversation, please do it in your own chat

Henrik: Goodnight.

Robbie: Night


End file.
